New Smyrna Beach Trip

The girls and I had a great time on our trip to New Smyrna Beach this year.  Ryan was actually on a mission trip in Lebanon, so he wasn't able to join us this time.  We certainly missed him, but we made lots of memories to tell him about.  We headed out on Friday morning and drove down to the JW Grand Lakes in Orlando.  Not only do we love this hotel, but it helped us avoid some of the crazy Saturday traffic.  We arrived about 4 and immediately headed down to the pool.  We love the lazy river with several smaller pools around it.  This is such a fun play pool!

We intended to stay out as late as possible and eat dinner poolside.  As I got ready to order though, I noticed a massive storm cloud just above the hotel.  I decided to hold off on ordering, and it was a good thing.  Not 5 minutes later, the bottom fell out of that cloud.  We ran back inside, took showers and ordered room service.  Really, we didn't mind.  We also watched a really cool lightening storm from our window.

 To pass some time, the girls broke out their oil pastels and started coloring which was fun.  We also watched the live action "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and then "The Muppets Christmas Carol."  I guess HBO Kids was doing some sort of Christmas in July special.  We enjoyed it!

 The next morning we headed down early for their fabulous buffet; it was delicious.  Then we changed back into our suits and hit the pool again.  We were there over 3 hours before we had to check out and head on over to the beach.  The girls had a great time playing with the floats.  We all enjoyed floating around the lazy river and playing in the waterfalls.

 Before getting completely out of Orlando, we stopped by City Walk for lunch at Bubba Gump's.  LOVE IT!

 We then drove over to New Smyrna, stopped at Publix, so we wouldn't have to get back out and got into the condo.  We unloaded as quickly as possible and then headed down in our clothes to get our toes in the sand.  We couldn't wait any longer!  Lily immediately carved out some sand.

 We were beyond thrilled that Meme was able to once again join us at the beach this year.  She hasn't been the last four years, and it just felt off.  We are so grateful she was feeling up to the trip.  On Sunday morning, we started out by letting her lead us in a devotion.

 The great-grandkids were pretty excited that the Birthday Money Game was also played on Sunday morning; this year we did bingo.  Needless to say, everyone left happy.

 Three of my favorites.

 There's very little order to the rest of these pictures; just kind of when I took them.

Ready to hit the waves!

 Boogie boards work pretty well in the pool too.

 Lots of sand play happened this week too.  I love that they aren't too big for that.

 Mia loved that Nicholas and Suzanna buried her in the sand and then gave her a Darth Vadar look, complete with light saber!

 Probably my favorite picture of the week.  So, so grateful Meme was here.

 Pretty sure the girls prefer the pool to the ocean.

 They loved when Granna got in to play with them!

 We were glad to have Meme supervising Dad, Joe, Randy and Jodi as they prepared our family breakfast one morning.  Biscuits, gravy, bacon, sausage, eggs, grits and fruit...yum!

 Almost everyone was able to make the annual "cousins' night" dinner at The Garlic which was a fun time.  This is a fun group to hang out with!

 One morning, just to stay out of the sun a bit, the girls and I had fun in our condo.  We baked brownies, colored some art, and played lots of games like Argh, Clue Jr. and Story Cubes.  It was a restful but fun morning.

 Hot dog day is always a great day!  After a fabulous lunch, we headed out for our big family picture.

Our family with Meme.

 Pool side fun

 The girls love when Papa goes out into the ocean with them.

 Playing in the pool together.

 Jumping waves with Suzanna.

 We all three did a good bit of reading on the beach this year which I loved.

 Mia learned how to skim board!

 That also involved a few spills, but she got back up and tried again until she got it.

 Sophie is an excellent skim board instructor.

These two had a great time together this week!

We didn't have a drop of rain this year which was amazing in and of itself.  We had to leave Saturday morning, but we left with lots of great memories.  This was a special week indeed.

Crestridge 2016 - 2 Chippewas

For years, I have been dreaming of sending the girls to Camp Crestridge.  This is a fabulous Christ-centered camp just outside beautiful Asheville, NC.  I have great memories of going twice while I was growing up as does my mom.  We decided this would be the perfect summer to send them.  At the camp, there are seven age groups or tribes.  The girls would be in the same tribe, Chippewa, this year which I thought would be great for when they do tribe activities.  Because they are two years apart though, they would be in different cabins and make different friends.  They were both so excited about going, though Lily admitted to being a little nervous too.  The camp is 12 days long which is the longest we've been apart; I'll admit I was a little anxious too, but we truly believed they would have a great time.  We drove up to Asheville on Saturday evening, and on Sunday morning we drove over for check-in.  Upon check-in, the girls passed their lice check (whew!) and were given packets with lots of information in it.  They immediately started poring over the map to see where their cabins were (Chippewa 1 for Mia, Chippewa 5 for Lily), and where everything else was located at the camp.

The packet also included pictures of their counselors and letters to the parents from their counselors.  Lily was excited to meet Emily and Kari, while Mia looked forward to  Trina, Mary and Hannah.

As we waited for the bus to pick us up to drive us into the camp, Mia immediately met 2 or 3 other girls in her cabin and began to play.  She started telling me about "her new BFFs" that she couldn't wait to spend time with.  Lily didn't meet any cabin mates while we waited, but she kept a great attitude.  Finally the bus arrived, and we headed into camp.  Lots of counselors were gathered around cheering as everyone exited and headed for their cabins.  We took a couple of pictures along the way.

Both girls were thrilled to get top bunks!

Mia loved that the Chippewa/Chickasaw playground was right outside her cabin.  We heard later she had tons of fun playing on this during free time.  The creek also runs right by her cabin; she apparently was in a pretty prime spot!

Lily's cabin sat at the top of Chippewa hill which provided a nice little view down the mountain.

I loved remembering so much as we walked around!  Everything was clearly marked which put Lily's mind at ease.  We walked through the chapel with the beautiful stained glass.

We all loved how Enos were all throughout the camp for people to enjoy.  These two happen to be right by the playground outside Mia's cabin.  This is one of the creeks which is a great spot for having some quiet time.  On the other side of this bridge is a nice prayer garden.

Of course, what camp is complete without a great lake?!  There's a blob, slide, zipline, canoes and kayaks here to enjoy.  The girls told me they didn't go swimming in it again after their swim test though; they had other things they wanted to do!

After a couple of hours and eating lunch together, it was time to say good bye.  Both girls gave us huge hugs and then walked happily to their cabins and counselors.  It was hard to see them go, but we knew they would have a blast; of course, we had a trip to CA planned, so we were looking forward to that.

Even though we knew they'd have fun, it was great to get these first letters.  I'm not sure if Mia was trying to hold her letter above her as her handwriting is usually much better than this, but we could tell she was having so much fun.  We were glad to see both were making friends.

The camp was really good about posting lots of pictures on a secure portal each day.  This was fun for me to look through and find them.  I loved seeing these pictures of them learning their skills.  Lily took Intro to Ballet, Gymnastics, Guitar, Drawing, Arts & Crafts and Needlework.  Mia took Horseback Riding, Treasure Hunting, Chippewa Adventure, Needlework, Archery and Outdoor Living.  We were glad to know they were in the same Needlework class.  Here are the pictures I ordered of them.

There were also pictures of all the other activities going on which helped us to see what their days were like.  Here are some of those.

After getting their honor bands.  Chippewas receive green bands.  It was really neat to see older girls who have all the color bands together.

Lily's cabin on the first day getting ready for swimming.

Mia with some archery friends.

A group performing during Singspiration.

Getting ready to open the Sock Wars game.

Each Chippewa also received at least one "big sister" to help them adjust to being at camp.  Lily absolutely adored her big, Chaney, who's pictured here.  She also loved Aly, her second big sister.

Lily, Chaney and some of Chaney's friends.

Lily's cabin before Night of Chaos games.

Mia's cabin before Night of Chaos.

Lily with her two counselors.

Mia's cabin before swimming.

Lily's cabin having fun together.  Maybe they were on their way to Nibble Nook which is the ice cream shop in town, or maybe they were getting ready for Carnival Night over at the boys camp.

At a lakeside service.

We received these wonderful letters from the girls' counselors.  I just about cried upon reading them.  I love seeing these characteristics in them, and I appreciate the counselors taking the time to write and let us know what they are seeing as well.

After 12 days, it was time to pick them up.  We were all glad to be together again!

Sweet girls at the closing ceremony.

Mia with two of her counselors.

Lily with both of her counselors.

Both girls absolutely loved this experience.  They talked almost non-stop telling us all about their adventures, their friends, their skills, their counselors, their food and all the fun.  They are already looking forward to returning next year!